Solving a hypothetical chess problem: a comparative analysis of computational methods and human reasoning

Abstract

Computational modeling has enabled researchers to simulate tasks which are very often impossible in practice, such as deciphering the working of the human mind, and chess is used by many cognitive scientists as an investigative tool in studies on intelligence, behavioral patterns and cognitive development and rehabilitation. Computer analysis of databases with millions of chess games allows players’ cognitive development to be predicted and their behavioral patterns to be investigated. However, computers are not yet able to solve chess problems in which human intelligence analyzes and evaluates abstractly without the need for many concrete calculations. The aim of this article is to describe and simulate a chess problem situation proposed by the British mathematician Sir Roger Penrose and thus provide an opportunity for a comparative discussion by society of human and artificial intelligence. To this end, a specialist chess computer program, Fritz 12, was used to simulate possible moves for the proposed problem. The program calculated the variations and reached a different result from that an amateur chess player would reach after analyzing the problem for only a short time. New simulation paradigms are needed to understand how abstract human thinking works.